Scotland …. It was unexpected, rough, temperamental, exhilarating, wild, magical and free. The land of men in skirts, diverse natural landscapes, 5 seasons in one day, bagpipes, haggis, enough interesting history to satiate any historian, and accents you either can’t understand or fall in love with. Being a teacher I have AMAZING holidays, and teaching in London it feels like I’m always on holidays for a week here or there. Last minute plans needed to be made and Scotland won this weeks adventuring. I got even more excited about my trip the day after I booked it….I met a Scottish-man whom I became slightly infatuated by…his accent, love for the outdoors, sense of humour and athleticism at a ping pong table made me a little weak at the knees. Sadly my love affair was not with him! During our brief encounter I mentioned I was off on a trip to his homeland and proceeded to wrangle as much ‘useful’ information as I could get about places to go and things to do. His advice sent me further than initially planned and it ended up being one of the most diverse weeks of travel to that date.
Considering I booked only a week in advance I managed £50 return flights with Ryanair and a day before car rental booking through Hertz for 7 days at £80.
View of Edinburgh Castle from Castle Rock Hostel
Arriving into Edinburgh airport I went to the Information centre (the ladies were lovely) and booked a return bus ticket using Airlink for £7 dropping me right in the heart of Edinburgh city and a short walk to my Hostel. One of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed in; Castle Rock Hostel is located at the bottom of Edinburgh castle…the view from my bedroom window went a little like this…..
I stayed in a 10 bed mixed dorm on the top bunk with NO snorers. Each room in the hostel is themed and my Scottish movies themed room suited me perfectly. I love wandering the streets to get a feel for any new city but brought along a small map from the hostel to help find my way back.
My wanderings led me along the Royal Mile where I stopped in on St Giles Cathedral to admire the stained glass windows and sit in on choir practice that was taking place.
St Giles Cathedral
I continued up to Carlton Hill overlooking Arthur’s Seat. From up there you can enter an observatory, climb onto the base of the Greek style pillars known as the National Monument…be warned you need to be at least 7 foot tall to actually climb onto them or have a buddy….I managed with an old faithful run and leap with a scramble up method. I decided to sit and take advantage of the sunshine and stayed to watch the sun start to set as I read my book overlooking the city and last people wandering down from Arthur’s Seat.
Night number one I picked up random conversations in the hostel and an hour later I found myself along with about 35 others on a free pub crawl around Edinburgh city centre. Stop #1 was Frankensteins; with its funky cocktails and a full stage like production of its name sake….suddenly there was a Frankenstein being created and coming to life above our heads. Later I took a night stroll of the streets of Edinburgh walking past the closed up Elephant Cafe where J.K. Rowlings sat down to write some of the Happy Potter series.
I rose early enough to take a free morning walking tour around the city centre. My guide was a fellow Australian with a loud personality and a passion for the theatrics. I learnt: buildings aren’t always as they appear from the outside, shiny statues don’t always bring you good luck and fortune, and the way a horses legs are visible with a rider atop is how the man atop came to his death. I saw graveyards full of Harry Potter character such as Tom Riddles…Voldermort finally in the grave! I also saw the statue of the famous dog of Edinburgh; Greyfriars Bobby, known for his loyalty as he stayed by his owners grave for 14 years until he met his own final sleep.
After the tour I enjoyed my packed lunch overlooking the historical execution square in Grassmarket then found a balcony to overlook the colourful buildings of Victoria Street.
That afternoon I took my time to see as many nooks and crannies of Edinburgh Castle as I could in the four hours before it closed. Useful tip….Discounted tickets are available if you buy multi-day passes, they work out a lot cheaper if you are going to a few castles or historical sites around Scotland. The signs around the castle are great to read but I grabbed an Audio tour to get all the extra goodies and keep me engaged.
My second night in Edinburgh I thought my hostel was about to be ripped from the ground and carried away like Dorothy and Toto to the land of Oz! The strong wind shook and rattled the wooden window panels throughout the night like one hundred 2 year olds chucking a tantrum altogether! Waking the next morning it was time to use my return bus ticket to the airport and pick up my little four wheeled beast and hit the road. It needs to be noted that I used my phone as a GPS in Scotland, but the road signage everywhere is AMAZING!
Here we go…5 days on the open road with no plans….
Day number one I started with another of many castles; Stirling Castle. It was here I find out about the discounted ticket deal.
View from one of the castles peepholes
Afterwards I took stop number one of my Outlander series scavenger hunt. Doune Castle was used for the filming of the castle Leoch of the Mackenzie Clan. In its current real life state it is much older and worn than they have made it appear on television, it was interesting to see the small exhibition with now and ‘TV show’ images for comparison.
Just outside of Fort William I stayed overnight in Glen Nevis hostel at the foot of Ben Nevis. My room looked out at the Glen Nevis range and along the river which had carved mushrooms along the waterside.
Some of the many views I had along my drive
The following day it was raining so I had a late start and instead of hiking mountains today in the rain; I began my drive towards Skye via Glenfinnen. I stopped at the towns visitors centre opposite Loch Shiel and took a short walk from the car park along a gravel pathway to find the Glenfinnen Viaduct. The Viaduct was used as a filming location for the 2nd Harry potter film when Harry and Ron are driving the blue flying car to catch up with the Hogwarts express.
You can walk right up to, under and almost along the side of the top of the viaduct trainline. I really wanted the do the Jacobite railway from Fort William to Mallaig that runs this length of track but I was a month too early. Back on Loch Shiel the memorial monument to the Jacobites can be found where Bonny Prince Charlie first called the Jacobites to arms.
I continued towards the Isle of Skye via Calmac ferries at Mallaig, and for myself and the car it was £29.05. I only got a one way because I wanted to drive back towards Inverness over the bridge located on the other side of the Isle.
The weather on Skye was a lot more extreme than I imagined. Most days; experiencing 5 weather types within 5 minutes being completely normal…..sunshine, rain, fog, wind, hail, and snow all made appearances.
For three nights I stayed in a Backpackers Hostel central to Portree main village, located right down on an inlet bay with boats chilling in the muds of low tide. You can pretty much walk the town in five minutes so I was staying in prime real estate.
Portree Harbour
For my first full day I went on a solo mission out to find the Fairy Pools. The drive out was beautiful and I loved the freedom to stop and get out for photography whenever the roadside allowed. The roads to get to the pools is fairly well marked but once you get to the car park you are on your own to cross the paddock and walk up to the pools.
I walked a little further than the main pools wondering if I would come across more but turned back as I watched the surrounds mountain-line become darker and darker over the fairy pools, and the storm whirl in at full charge. I made it back to the car 5 minutes after it hit and I sat in the car for about 15 minutes thawing out before I decided it would be safe to leave the car park in the thrashing wind and rain downpour. As I was leaving the car park dripping wet hitch hikers were thumbing it so I popped the boot and crammed them in too. For the rest of the day imagine rain, shotty reception in the hostel, and a lonely Australian girl sitting with her IPad and notepad with a pint of beer at the local pub.
My second full day on Skye I found companions from the Hostel to venture out into the wilderness with. A small island girl from Canada on a month long UK trip, and Florence; an English and Dutch teacher from Belgium. The weather was showing no sign of clearing from cold, windy, foggy rain but with time restraints we pushed on …. An hour of walking uphill with nothing but the occasional outline to head towards we made it up to the base of the Old Man of Storr. The walk up had one main path for the most part, but closer to the top the number of smaller paths to choose from meant we were mostly guessing; at one stage making a short scramble up some slippery shale. Trying to get this photograph at the highest point we reached I think all three of us almost blew off the side of the ridge-line and into the fog.
Kilt Rock was stop number two. It’s a sight I had seen pop up on Pinterest for a long time and finally seeing it you know why it is so popular. The fall was smaller than I imagined but non the less impressive and due to the rain had an extra kick to it. The surrounding landscape along the coast is breathtaking, with its sheer drops and multitude of colours accentuated by the weather.
Stop three: The Fairy Glen was HARD to find with zero sign postage. When we actually arrived we didn’t even know we were there. It wasnt until we investigated a small track leading up behind some trees that we found it. Hiking up and over the small hill we found ourselves looking out over the Glen. It’s hard to put into words what you see in the Glen and the photos certainly don’t do it justice, but in one word I would say it was MAGICAL. Rock spirals leading to a mound of coins and treasure left behind. There were many waterfalls and a path leading to a rock fortress lookout where you could search for fairies, nymphs or any other magical creature you think you could spot in such a magical place.
The drive around Skye does not take more than a few hours but there are so many beautiful and magical places to see, you could spend a lot more than the two and a half days I had. One last beauty I wanted to share from the Isle was The Quiraing. The drive along this stretch of the Isle is narrow, windy, and the view on both sides is packed full of weird and wonderful rock formations.
My time was running low and I still had a long way to go, so from Skye I drove the scenic route over Skye bridge towards Inverness. I had much planned for my time here and it needed to jump right on in. Back on track now with my Outlander tour, I went to visit Clava Carne first. These stone circles and Carnes holds as much mystery as many others around the world but this specific one was used as the inspiration and filming for when Clare goes back in time.
Just around the corner from the Carne you can find the historic battleground and museum of Culloden. In April 1746, Culloden moor saw clans from around the Highlands join together with Jacobite supporters for Scotland and Prince Charles to fight and ultimately lose against the Duke of Cumberland and his troops. The results from this loss led to many devastating changes for Highland society. Chiefs were deprived of their legal powers and clansmen of their weapons. Most notable was the ban of kilts and tartan; a highlanders outer identity.
Urquhart Castle
My last stop for the day was a visit to Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. Walking down to the castle I could hear bagpipes and upon entry I had the honor of witnessing a wedding taking place. Once one of the largest castles in Scotland, its ruins still leave an impression of grandeur. Up in what is left of the tower I took some time to scan the waters for Nessie the monster, but alas she still evades me.
A sort half hour drive from Inverness is Fort George. As I reached the end of my driving directions I couldn’t see anything but a rolling grassy hill with glimpses of water around. The fort is almost invisible until you are entering the car park. Perfectly camouflaged, this Fort is known as one of the mightiest artillery fortifications in Britain. I spent the afternoon wandering the ins and outs of the accessible sections and felt all alone apart from the occasional soldier walking by and the mass of seagulls soaring and squawking around.
My last afternoon and night I wandered the town of Inverness, heading into the Victorian Market, walked along the river looking yup at the Castle and finally into the Waterfront for dinner and a pint. Jacobite Chicken with haggis …I’d never had haggis and it was the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden; so I felt the name deserved at least a try. I stayed for a few drinks when a live Scottish band started playing.
My last day in Scotland started in Inverness with my last lavish breakfast from Shella my B&B owner of Invernevis B&B, a 10 minute walk into the centre of Inverness to print my boarding pass at the information centre, then I was on the road again. My little wee beastie and I needed to get to Edinburgh again to part ways, her to stay at the airport to await her next and not as cool driver, and me to fly back to London for work. The drive back was fairly uneventful but I took the route through Cairnwood National Park via Aviemore. In Aviemore I took a drive up to the ski hill to look out through the National Park. It is a beautiful view in its own right with the different layers of colour and the large moor below, but I had to try and not compare it to the landscapes from the rest of the trip. There was actually still snow on the hills and skiers and snowboarders were busy squeezing in their last turns for the season.
After a fantastic week of history and sightseeing, I left my love affair with Scotland for the loud sights and sounds of my home in London.
The World Adventures of Melly B 